Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

A gaggle of girls celebrated their goldfish prizes at a stand at the Sea Bright Firemen’s Fair on opening Thursday. The event, which features a Ferris wheel, continues through Sunday in the former Peninsula House lot on Ocean Avenue. All proceeds go to benefit Sea Bright Fire Rescue and the borough’s recreation repartment. More info here. (Photos by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

The Sea Bright Firemen’s Fair returns Thursday for a four-night stand of rides, music, games and great views.

On paper, the four-evening Sea Bright Firemen’s Fair would seem to have pretty much exactly what you’d expect of any small-town fundraiser carnival: the trucked-in rides, the games of chance, the food vendors, the local music.

But to residents of the greater Red Bank Green, the annual fair always meant something more, signaling as it does the start of the summer fun season, every bit as much as the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair bookends the other side with one last bittersweet blast against the encroaching back-to-school blues.

The prosecutor in the case of three firefighters convicted of charges in a firehouse scuffle last year wants at least two of them barred from their line officer positions within the department.

“The state believes they should not be allowed back into their positions,” said Little Silver Prosecutor Mike Halfacre, who is also the mayor of neighboring Fair Haven. “Forfeiture (of their positions) in my eyes, and in the state’s eyes, is automatic.”

A Sea Bright Fire Department engine truck on display at the department’s wet-down celebration, shortly before three firefighters got into a scuffle that led to charges. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Two brothers accused of assaulting a fellow volunteer firefighter last year were found guilty of all related charges Thursday, according to court documents obtained by redbankgreen.

But their act of violence upon Justin Hughes at a wet-down celebration October 9 wasn’t unprovoked, the judge said. Hughes was also found guilty of harassment and disorderly conduct.

Thursday’s docket, below, for the case of three Sea Bright firefighters involved in a fight at the borough firehouse last year. (Click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Two Sea Bright firefighters accused of roughing up a fellow volunteer last year were provoked by insults hurled by the victim, who said one of the assailants should have been killed in Iraq, their defense attorney said Thursday.

In a drawn-out day of testimony at Little Silver municipal court, the two sides offered conflicting accounts of what started the scuffle, which sent 28-year-old firefighter Justin Hughes to the hospital.

And although it was the second day of testimony, this time a marathon five hours’ worth continued from May 5, the presiding judge reserved decision on the case.

Video of the October 9 firetruck wetdown in Sea Bright that preceded the alleged assault of a firefighter by two others.

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A dramatic seven-minute video was the centerpiece of opening day in court as two Sea Bright volunteer firefighters went on trial Thursday for an alleged assault on a third.

Courtroom onlookers also heard testimony from two witnesses  one of them a Monmouth Beach cop  who filled in dialogue on the silent video and gave blow-by-blow accounts of the fight that followed a wet-down celebration for a new firetruck last October 9.

High winds knocked down six utility poles on New Street in Sea Bright, forcing the closure of Ocean Avenue. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A young woman suffered minor injuries in Sea Bright today as high winds knocked down six utility poles on New Street.

The unidentified child suffered an electrical shock inside a residence, said Read Murphy, a councilman and volunteer responder.

A reverse 911 alert also reported that a large amount of fuel oil is running into the borough’s sewer system and the adjacent Shrewsbury River. A Monmouth County hazmat team has been called to the scene. redbankgreen could not immediately confirm that information.

“We’ve got a total mess down here,” said Murphy, whose son, Chad, is the fire chief.